in 2002 before the war began, a young state senator named barack obama came out to oppose the invasion of iraq. at a time when few politicians on the left were showing that kind of courage. when he was running for president a few years later, he promised to end the iraq war, and in 2011, he did. >> as president, i want us to fight on the right battlefield. and what that means is getting out of iraq. >> the long war in iraq will come to an end by the end of this year. across america, our servicemen and women will be reunited with their families. today, i can say that our troops in iraq will definitely be home for the holidays. >> our troops are home. the iraq war is over. but today too many republicans haven't learned the lessons of this tragedy. dick cheney himself says he has no regrets. >> it is a wartime situation. it was more important to be successful than it was to be loved. if i had to do it over again, i would do it in a minute. >> and here's what a new republican congressman, a veteran considered a rising star in the party, said just last week. >> are we fighting too many wars